The present invention is in the field of flat plate luminous display devices utilizing a discharge through inert gas and more particularly to those devices having a moving pattern of light.
Nikola Tesla is the first inventor to make use of high voltage high frequency current to remotely induce a glowing discharge in glass vessels containing low pressure inert gases. Since then, a myriad of plasma display devices have been devised. These devices generally consist of a vitreous glass housing defining a chamber of spherical or flat shape. The discharge chamber will typically contain a low pressure inert gas such as neon with an activating impurity such as mercury vapour. The device will also have a centrally disposed electrode either protruding into or adjacent to the discharge area which is electrically coupled to a high voltage alternative current source with a cyclic rate above 20 kHz. When the voltage is applied, the high frequency ionizes the gas, forming a plasma through which a current flows by capacitive coupling to the surrounding area. The current re-establishes itself through a new path with every A/C cycle in a random fashion resulting in a pleasing moving luminous display. Particularly interesting effects are achieved by placing one's hand on the outside of the display surface. Due to the concentration of water and ions, the hand acts as a second conductive element of a capacitor thus partially diverting the discharge towards the point of contact resulting in an interactive kinetic light display.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a plasma display capable to fully control the motion of the luminous discharge by mechanical means so as to allow the construction of but not limited to a timepiece.
It is another object of the invention to provide a plasma display made up of multiple independent discharge chambers each hermetically sealed to contain its own gaseous mixture resulting in a multi-color, multi-effect display.